Getting your yard ready for Santa Ana winds

What Santa Ana winds are

Santa Ana winds are dry, warm winds that blow into Southern California from the northeast and east, pushed by high pressure over the Great Basin in Nevada and Utah. The air warms and dries out as it sinks toward sea level, and relative humidity often drops below 10%. The winds speed up as they funnel through mountain passes and canyons.

Most events last a few days. They can happen any time from September through May, and they get the most attention in the fall, when everything is dry after summer.

For a yard, that adds up to three problems at once:

• Plants lose water fast, even when it isn't especially hot.
• Weak branches and loose objects get tested.
• Dry leaves, fronds, and debris become fire fuel.

Before the wind

Water first

UC's Center for Landscape & Urban Horticulture explains that plants use more water as wind and temperature rise and humidity falls. A Santa Ana event checks all three boxes. Give beds, shrubs, and trees a deep watering a day or two before the wind arrives, so the root zone starts full. Containers and anything planted this year dry out first, so check those daily.

Secure the yard

• Patio umbrellas: close them and take them down.
• Cushions, light chairs, and decor: bring them into the garage or house.
• Trash, recycling, and green bins: move them out of the wind and away from the house.
• Small pots and hanging baskets: move them to a sheltered spot and group them together.
• Tarps, shade cloth, and anything else loose: tie it down or take it down.

Stake young trees, loosely

UC's integrated pest management program says to stake a young tree only if it needs the support, with flexible ties in a loose loop on stakes set on opposite sides of the trunk. The trunk should still be able to flex in the wind, because that movement is how it builds strength. Take the stakes off after a year or so.

Trees and big branches

Strong gusts find the weak spots in a tree. Before the wind picks up, walk around your trees and look for:

• Dead or hanging branches, especially over the house, driveway, cars, or power lines.
• Cracks, splits, or cavities in the trunk or where big limbs join it.
• A new or worsening lean, or soil lifting on one side of the trunk.
• Dead palm fronds still hanging on the tree.

If a large tree shows any of these, have an ISA-certified arborist look at it. Never prune near power lines yourself. Our heavy rain guide has more warning signs, and if a city street tree comes down, see what to do if a city tree falls.

Clear the fire fuel

On a Santa Ana day, dry leaves and debris near the house are fuel. CAL FIRE's checklist for the first 5 feet around a home, which it calls Zone 0, is a good list to work through before every wind event.

• Clear dead weeds, grass, and debris, and check roofs and gutters for leaves and needles.
• Keep combustible items to a minimum close to the house, including furniture and planters on decks.
• Move trash and recycling containers out of that first 5 feet.
• Keep branches trimmed 10 feet back from chimneys and stovepipes.
• Store firewood and lumber well away from the house, 30 to 100 feet out.

CAL FIRE notes that Zone 0 isn't legally required yet, but it's the state's own list of what to clear first. On hillside lots, the year-round brush clearance rules in our plant care guide apply too. When you clean up leaves and fronds, our green bin guide covers what goes in the bin and where palm fronds go.

Red Flag days and power shutoffs

Red Flag days in the City of LA

The Los Angeles Fire Department declares a Red Flag Alert when the wind speed is 25 mph or more and relative humidity is 15% or less. During an alert, parking is restricted on certain narrow streets in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. Those streets are posted with "Red Flag Days" no-parking signs, and cars parked there illegally are towed. If you live in the hills, sign up for LAFD's alerts so you know when restrictions start.

Mowing and power tools

CAL FIRE says to "cut your lawn before 10 AM, and avoid mowing entirely on hot, dry, or windy days." Metal blades can spark when they hit rocks, and in wildland areas spark arresters are required on portable gas-powered equipment like mowers, chainsaws, and weed eaters. According to CAL FIRE, 95% of wildfires are caused by human activity, so on a Santa Ana day, yard work with power tools can wait.

Power shutoffs

If your electricity comes from Southern California Edison, it may shut off power ahead of strong winds to reduce the risk of its equipment starting a fire. Edison begins sending notices up to three days ahead, but sudden winds can mean little or no notice. Anyone can sign up for alerts for a specific address, and Edison's outage map shows whether an address is in a possible shutoff area.

A shutoff also stops your irrigation controller. Once power is back, check that the controller kept the right time and schedule.

While it's blowing

• Stay out from under big trees and tall palms during strong gusts.
• Stay away from downed power lines and anything touching them. Keep at least 100 feet back and call 911.
• Check pots and new plantings every day. Hand water before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m. if they're dry.
• Hold off on mowing, trimming, and leaf blowing. It can wait until the wind dies down.

After the wind

Check the soil, then water

Dry wind empties the soil faster than a normal week. Use the screwdriver test from our plant care guide: if a screwdriver won't push 4 to 6 inches into the bed, it's time for a deep watering on your next allowed day.

Walk the trees again

Look for cracked or hanging limbs, a new lean, or lifted soil around the base. Broken branches left hanging can fall later without warning.

Clean up the debris

Pick up branches, fronds, and leaves before they blow into the street or the storm drain. In the City of LA, they go in the green bin loose, and LA Sanitation's free annual brush pickup takes the overflow. Some nearby cities don't take palm fronds in the green cart, so check our green bin guide before you fill it.

Check the irrigation

Falling branches break sprinkler heads and knock drip lines loose. Run each zone briefly on your next watering day and look for geysers, dry spots, and puddles.

Clear the roof and gutters

Wind refills gutters and roof valleys with leaves and needles, so check them again before the next event or the first big rain.